Dolly for use with disabled vehicles



United States Patent 2,943,863 DOLLY FOR USE WITH DISABLED VEHICLES Floumoy Corey, Maurice G. Swords, Dennis J. Erger, and Robert D. Pitts, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, assignors to Pickwick Company, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a corporation of Iowa Filed A... 3, 1958, Ser. No. 726,176

' 7 Claims. Cl. 280-791) This invention relates to vehicles and has particular relation to a dolly or trailer for transporting wrecked or incapacitated vehicles, such as automobiles and trucks.

The problem of transporting wrecked or incapacitated motor vehicles has become greater within the last few years: with the ever increasing use of delicate hydraulic drives, and even more so with the advent and general use of lift or air supported vehicles.

' In the case of vehicles in which oil turbines, automatic transmissions and the like are used to drive the vehicle, such drives can be ruined it the vehicle is towed any distance. In moving air-cylinder-supported vehicles, the problem is more acute since, if the air pressure goes down or if the system is ruptured in any manner, the body of the vehicle squats down on the wheels and axles, making it extremely difficult for the wrecker operator to get under the vehicle to place any sort of a rolling support beneath the vehicle.

Usually only one man is sent with a wrecker to bring in a disabled vehicle. It is the usual practice for this man to pick up one or the other end of the vehicle with his wrecker and bring it in by towing it on the other two wheels. If the front end of the vehicle is wrecked, for instance, or has a fiat tire, then the operator is forced to pick upthis end of the vehicle and tow it on the two back wheels.

If the back wheels are driven by a hydraulic or automatic drive, it is necessary for the operator to get under the vehicle and disconnect the drive shaft, or if the vehicle is air suspended, it is necessary for him to raise the body and insert blocks beneath it. This can be a very unpleasant and almost impossible job in mud or snow or rough terrain and, in fact, some automatic transmissions cannot be disconnected without disassembling.

While dollies or supporting trailers or the like have been provided for this purpose, theyare heavy awkward structures difficultfor one man to place under the disabled vehicle. If, for instance, he should raise one end of the vehicle for insertion of a dolly or a trailer, the heavy dolly structure must be slid endwise between the projecting rear of the wrecker and the front of the disabled vehicle. 1 It is' almost beyond. the strength'of oneman to do. Furthermore this trailer or dolly is awkward and hard for the operator to unload from his wrecker and reload, besides the diflicu-lty of stowing such a dolly or trailer in or on the wrecker.

Also it is necessary, in using a conventional dolly or trailer, for the operator to chain a tongue of the dolly or the liketo the drive shaft and chain the axle of the vehicle down to the dolly so that he still has to get under the or rear wheels of the wrecked vehicleon the dolly and Patented July 5, 1960 It is also among the objects of our invention to provide a light weight dolly or trailer which is so constructed that it can be disassembled into light weight component parts, easily handled 'by one man, capable of being stowed in the wrecker without taking up too much space, and so constructed that it can be assembled right in position beneath the wrecker and in front of the disabled vehicle whilethe disabled vehicle is suspended, or readily slid into place.

Still another object of our invention is to provide a low slung dolly structure on which a vehicle may be placed without chains or blocking and which will track and operate at high speeds over roughterrain, such as gutters, shoulders, rough roads, and under all the adverse conditions that such operations encounter, and yet so formed and constructed that it is unnecessary to chain the dolly to the disabled vehicle or, wrecker.

In the construction of such a light Weight device, problems of sagging and misalignment might occur if we did not devise means for overcoming these difliculties, and therefore it is another object of our invention to provide means for compensating and overcoming misalignment which might occur because of sagging or distortion of structural members. t

It is a still further object of our invention to provide a low-slung, steady, platform or structure supported at four widely spaced points and yet, at the same time, provide sufiicient springing and torsional members and structure so that controlled springing will occur to permit alignment of the dolly over inequalities of the road surface.

A still further important object of our invention is to provide an inexpensive but strong, reliable, smooth riding supporting structure for use in the transporting of a disabled vehicle.

Other and further features and objects of the invention will be more apparent to those skilled in the art upon a consideration of the accompanying drawings and following specifications, wherein is disclosed a single exemplary embodiment of the invention, with the understanding, however, that such changes may be made therein as fall within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of "the invention.

In said drawings:

Figure l is a view in fragmentary perspective of a dolly as it appears in position when supporting the rear end of a wrecked car.

Figure 2 is a view in perspective ofia dolly in assembled relation as it appears ready for use. 1

Figure 3 is a view in perspective showing one of the trucksof a dolly constructed accordingto our invention and illustrating the application of a. carrying handle vand where it is located'so that the truck can be transported.

Figure 4 is also a View in perspective and illustrates how the dolly may he dismounted and stowed-in a Wreckerf." M Y FigureS is a diagrammatic viewin perspective illustrating the action of the-torsional forces and illustrating how the dolly is allowed to ride over inequalities of roadbed' by utilizing the differential movement of the wheels of the vehicle, together with controlled torsion and misalignment so that the fourwheels may move independently to acontrolled degree, and

Figure 6'is'a transverse'section taken.at*6-6 illustrating the connection'j between a truck and thetorsion bars. q

. Referring nowto the drawings:

A dolly constructed according to a preferred embodiment of our invention preferablyconsists'of two trucks," illustrated generally '10 and 11, each of the trucks being formed of a box-like channel 12 having inwardly projecting tubes 13 for telescopicallyreceiving transverse torsion rods 14. There are two of the inwardly projecting tubes togredeivethe tubesliilk a he tubesfi endld n hreu h as lower setiehnne 'l-zi he l ns m an ha a a sw n Platesat 2 59 th t-i m y-be read v o et a d a nut ziisprev deden he s wer fa ep he cha nel 3.

nd w ldedi her to soiha i he eek ngime ns w l 1 on each truck,"and in order to secure these tubes in secure relation to meet the strains imposed on the structure, we provide plates, as illustrated at' 16, which close the channel 12 to provide aninboard sidewall, and the plates and vertieelwalle 0f h chann l arep ev ed with epea ns jAnj "portant arrgcr but inthe; channel 12 for receiving the tube 13 is f ofise't above that inthe plate-15 top'rovideflaZ degree slant or bias of.

' theztuhe downward at its inward" inner end 13' inrelation' to the outer end whichlis adjacent a wheel, to. thereby im:

pose icorttrolledbend in the-torque tube :14; or, in other, Words; the torque tube 14 is chosen a sutficiently thin wall such" that it can twist tundert load .to permit the,

wheels of the dolly to rolloner unequal surfaceswhere o Wh s era ed e -rea b w i he lThe load of the vehiclepillus'trated in dottedlines. iatii,

causes deilectionfof lljflbut by offsettinglth'e a 1.3 defl s i nief he-wb ls r m t h u i g the truelg 16 {to be inclined from the 've'rtical.

f The unique structure supplies torsion tubes to applydesirable-springing characteristics and then is provided with means for cancelling out' other undesirable spring t fitii s- The outer end 7 closed by means of a strap 21 'so that inpositioniing the tube Within the truck, the torsion tube can'be readily andquickly positioned in the tube 13 even under night-time. conditions f f; r:

Af e h t sien t be h ebeen prep l ee d eleek-r n p n 2. is i serted throu h t upperiia iet th ehen-Y invention a that "the hole Q e t e 3 s efe b p r ly" portance to our invention, since .it is one of the-main 7 objects of the invention to provide a dolly mounting such that the dolly does not need to be chained to the vehicle.

in practice We have foundthat the built-in torsion effect of'the torque tubes and the peculiar structure of "the dolly and trucks permits it to be used under severe conditions of high speed. and rough and muddy terrain; Although the dolly is readily assembled anddiszissem bled, and lightlyeonst ue ei'it is e en pessi lerfer-t rue}; driver to d y mi us t e ll by $1 g h s truck over shoulder gutte rsrand onto theshoulde s 'ofroads, through ditches, and at speeds of 65 to {/0 per hour without dislodging the dolly. or

One truck of the dolly,; complete with wheels as'lillus 7 trated in Figure-3; 'will weigh; in the neighborhood. of r 75 pounds, and the handle 51 is so located above the V V center of gravity ofthe truck that 'it maybe readily careel lZa-nd h eu-shme ehed' openin s 3; 1 4 25 ahdZ-fiin work loose in use; A pair of outwardly projecting stub 31 ar iprevided on each .1 ruek and t e's ub Port passrthrough the 'wallsof the .fc'hannel 1 2 a1id-plate16 in V the s'ame manner as the tubes 13, and Ihestub' axles are weldedin; place in the channeland plate. r The stub axles, however, project at 91.0 degrees with:the face of the channelso that in running position, the wheels are in true vertical relation, even "though the torque tubes 14 are distorted and bend downwardly by the loadof the vehicle, as illustrated at 17. I v l In order to properly supportthe vehicle and adapt the ti e Qpesin the device for carrying vehicles of difierent tread, we provide curved plates, illustrated at 41, and these curved plates have a stifiening member 42 .at the inner end thereofwhich not only serves to stifie'n the rcurvedplate 41, but.

also serves as part of the support for a narrow tread vehicle, such as the"Volkswagon.--" 7 i The torque tubes are rsuflic'iently spaced apartvs'o'that the wheels of.'a vehicle, as illustratedfin Figure lydrop down to the position between the torque tubes such that the angle: of application :of :thesu'pporting force for the vehicle wheel, is at 'a sufiicient' angular degree withreferr a once to the horizontal, so thatthe wheels not become dislodged from the cradle of the dolly; 'It' would be possible, of course, to .applya force above the point of application of the forces oftth'e torque tubes suflicient to dislodge, the vehicle from the do1ly,"b1it a practical consideration, the angle of application of the forces of the torque tubes against the wheels is so greatithat' it ried by one hand in the horizontal or operative position andpfucoursethe tubeswillresist'in-ever increasing. degree therotational efiect of unequal heightiof wheelsl tolafiorrl a springing action which will rte d bring thedolly back'to its noi-mal position. i e The dolly acts in conjunction with the wheels of 7 vehicle as W ell, since these wheels can rotate ind e ently from each other. The vehicle springs whees and the springing of the torsion bars or'torque and the cushioning efieet of the tires of the dolly rall 7 make it unnecessary to provide any additional sprin or provide any other means to permit contour foll motion or for movement of the dolly over rough to I In operation, even though the dolly ispositi p a e on b t e ht o t e e e; tene tryek rotate to a surprising degree, as when one side rolls I a curb or gutter, without displacing the dolly; The

he l o h ve o n o the W b1 e Ihe h u t rotate to a e s de r le de eit referen e te e othe butb ek i 't witho eeem p al lodged Th e e t is star and a i es ttha oi a v ew n a t p l ar ead' eh l o ng ov theobs a le y r A th u h e ha e des i ed a spe ific embediment of our invention, it is apparent that modifications thereof ions I y h ma -thoutfdepaning mm the: spirit an i f 7' 89 126 9f olll'invention as Stet forth in theappended claims may e mad y those ski ledvin the art, ,Suchmodifica- We i laimas our invention:

. 1, A dollyfor transporting a vehicletcomprisingiasmiled, opposed pairof horizontally extending-frame mem ett a P ir Df Wheels mounted ,on eacltzof said 'frame members for rotation on. fixed horizontal .axesL-ex-L tendingtlaterally from said frame; members, ione wheel would be djfi lt to pply a forceofsulficient magnitude above these pointsto-dislodge the wheel; a t

Itvmight be possible for the horizontal component of force, acting below the point of application of ,the torque tube forces, to rotate one end of theidolly out from under 1 the vehicle, but the torqueltube passing to the other-side of the vehicle to thefother dolly would then come into play v and would resistthis rotation. Thisis' one of the i reasons that the .tor que tubes and their mounting is of of each of said pair ofwlieels'beingdisposed rearwardlyfof the other wheel in said "pair, {each wheel jof a being opposed to a wheel in the spaced pair of wheels g to, provide a set of opposed-:wheels, ahpair of lpanimmhers positioned inboard ofrval set of opposed wheels torsion member extending between fsaid' frame :memb and having.end portiongand ineans:forlrigidly securin eachrof'isaid end portions totheframevniember adjac t thereto, said torsionmember being spaced fi'oin horizontalv axes of rotationiof one set of opposed w els' of said pa'ir s of wheels, each 'of sai'cl pafi member I I connected to saidftorsion member adjacent 'laendtherebf and extendingtoward-thehoiiiontal axes of rotation of the other set of opposed wheels, whereby said pan members and said set of opposed wheels remote from said torsion member are rotatable with respect to the longitudinal axis of said torsion member.

2. A dolly for transporting a vehicle as set forth in claim 1 wherein said horizontally extending frame members comprise a spaced pair of box-like frame members, each having an inboard sidewall, said inboard sidewalls of said frame members being opposed to one another, said means for rigidly securing each of the end portions of said torsion member to said frame comprising a spaced pair of short, hollow tube-like members, each of said tube-like members being rigidly connected to a corresponding one of said frame members and extending laterally from the inboard sidewall of said frame member, each free end portion of said torsion member 7 being telescopically engaged with a corresponding one of said tube-like members, and stub axles adapted to receive said wheels secured to said box-like frame members and extending laterally therefrom.

3. A dolly as set forth in claim 2 wherein said means for rigidly securing each of the end portions of said torsion member to said frame further comprises a pin member detachably engaging a free end portion of said torsion member and the adjacent frame member.

4. A dolly as set forth in claim 2 wherein each inboard sidewall of said spaced box-like frame members is provided with an opening and the corresponding short hollow tube-like member rigidly secured thereto extends laterally from the opening in said inboard sidewall.

5. A dolly as set forth in claim 4, wherein the corresponding short hollow tube-like member rigidly secured to a frame-member extends through said opening in said sidewall into said frame member.

6. A dolly for engaging the spaced opposed Wheels of a single pair of wheels of a vehicle and for transporting said vehicle comprising a spaced, opposed pair of horizontally extending frame members, a pair of wheels mounted on each of said frame members for rotation on fixed horizontal axes extending laterally and perpendicularly from said frame members, one wheel of each of said pair of wheels being spaced from and disposed rearwardly of the other wheel in said pair, each wheel of said pair of wheels being positioned adjacent an end of the frame member upon which it is mounted, each wheel of said spaced pair of wheels being opposed to a wheel in the pair of wheels mounted on the spaced frame member to provide a set of opposed Wheels, a pair of pan members positioned inboard of a set of opposed wheels, each of said pan members having terminal end portions and a recessed intermediate portion to permit each pan member to receive a single wheel of the vehicle to be transported, a torsion member extending between said spaced frame members and having end portions, and means for rigidly securing each of said torsion member end portions to the frame member adjacent thereto,

said torsion member being positioned between the adjacent horizontal axes of rotation of the sets of opposed wheels closely adjacent the horizontal axes of rotation of one set of opposed Wheels and spaced from the horizontal axes of rotation of the other set of opposed wheels, each of said pan members being connected to said torsion member adjacent a terminal end thereof and extending toward the horizontal axes of rotation of the other set of opposed wheels to provide a support for one wheel of a single spaced pair of wheels of said vehicle to be transported, whereby the wheels of only a single spaced opposed pair thereof of the vehicle to be transported are freely engaged and supported by a corresponding pan member and said pan members and said set of opposed wheels remote from said torsion member are rotatable about the longitudinal axis of said torsion member.

7. A dolly for engaging the spaced opposed wheels of a single pair of wheels of a vehicle and for transporting said vehicle comprising a spaced, opposed pair of horizontally extending frame members, a pair of wheels mounted on each of said frame members for rotation on fixed horizontal axes extending laterally from said frame members, one wheel of each of said pair of wheels being spaced from and disposed rearwardly of the other Wheel of said pair, each wheel of said pair of wheels being opposed to a wheel in the pair of wheels mounted on the spaced frame member to provide a set of opposed wheels, a pair of pan members positioned inboard of a set of opposed wheels, spaced torsion members extending between said spaced frame members, each of said torsion members having end portions, and means for rigidly securing each of said end portions to the frame member adjacent thereto, each of said torsion members being spaced from the horizontal axes of rotation of one of said sets of opposed wheels, each of said pan members being positioned adjacent one of said frame members and extending between and connected to each of said spaced torsion members adjacent the terminal ends thereof secured to said frame member adjacent to said pan member.

References Cited in the file of this-patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 426,474 Smalley et a1 Apr. 29, 1890 1,067,934 Martin July 22, 1913 1,871,180 'Kegresse Aug. 9, 1932 2,174,661 Hope et a1 Oct. 3, 1939 2,215,425 Longfellow Sept. 17, 1940 2,599,366 Bohnenblust June 3, 1952 2,639,926 Parks May 26, 1953 2,661,856 Stanley et a1. Dec. 8, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 732,291 France June 14, 1932 

